Apparatus for removing oil from the crank cases of engines



June 12, 1934. E, J swEETLAND 1,962,623

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING OIL FROM THE CRANK CASES OF ENGINES Filed Feb. 9, 1932 hav as Patented June 12, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR REMOVING OIL FROM THE CRANK CASES OF ENGINES Ernest J. Sweetland, Piedmont, Calif.

Application February 9, 1932, Serial No. 591,840

12 Claims.

'10' of removing any drain plug whatever.

It is a further object to reduce the time and labor required for draining the crank case from several minutes to a matter or or seconds and without the use of expensive auxiliary equip- 15 i ment such as hydraulic or pneumatic jacks, floor space and the like. The rapidity of operation thus accomplished has the further advantage of getting the used lubricant out of the engine almost instantaneously, immediately after the jengine is stopped so that foreign particles in suspension during the operation of the engine do not havean opportunity to settle.

A further object is to make it convenient to perform the draining operation wherever the car can be reached by the customary service station air hose and without the necessity of having to place the car in any particular location.

- A further advantage resides in the time and labor saved in the automobile factory where engines-are being tested on a production basis. In thesefactory tests it is highly desirable to be able to remove the oil as rapidly as possible, because it is during the initial factory test that particles of metal chips or core sand are washed -from the engine parts into the oil circulation. To be able to remove the oil instantaneously when the engine is stopped insures the removal of dangerous particles that may otherwise remain in the crank case to contaminate the next charge of oil.

' A further object is to render what has heretofore been one of the dirtiest and most incon engine, which has an important effect upon the smoothness and quietness of the engine operation, the expense of maintenance and upon the life of the vehicle. The method and apparatus by which these objects are accomplished will be understood by reference to the following specification and the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 represents an end elevation of an automotive internal combustion engine with a portion broken away to show one form of installation whereby my invention may be carried out.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the fluid operated motor and oil expelling means.

Figure 3 shows a plan view of the motor with cover removed and. taken on the line 33 of Fig-- ure 2. A portion of the rotor is broken away to show the vanes or notches against which the fluid under pressure discharges to cause rotation. Referring in detail to the drawing, 1 represents the cylinder block of the engine which conventionally shows a spark plug 2 and. an exhaust manifold 3. 4 is a lug or bracket by means of which the engine is supported in the motor vehicle frame and 5 is the lower portion of the crank case, or pan, which also serves as a reservoir for oil which may normally fill the crank case to the level 6 indicated by a dotted line. '7 is an emergency plug which may be used for draining the crank case in the ordinary manner in the'event that the operation is required in a location where fluid under pressure is not available for operating the expelling means to be described later. 8 represents a depression or sump which is preferably the lowermost point of the crank case or pan, all other parts ofthe crank case being made to slope toward this sump to promote rapid drainage. 9 is an eduction conduit or tube extending from a point nearthe bottom of the sump 8 upwardly to the point 11 where it is screwed into or otherwise secured into the body of the engine casting. 12 is a fluid operated motor having a propeller shaft 13, and fluid inlet stem 14., the details of this portion of the mechanism being more clearly shown in Figure 2.

15 is a discharge pipe or conduit threaded into the engine casting at the point 16 and extending downward to a point preferably about even with or slightly below the bottom of the crank case as shown. The shape and length, however, of pipe 15 are not essential. In some instances, I may prefer to terminate this pipe at the point indicated by the dotted line 17, in which event the service station would slip a flexible hose over the short discharge pipe to conduct the expelled lubricant to any convenient tank or vessel. I prefer, however, to continue the discharge pipe to the point indicated at 15a for with this arrangement, the pipe acts as a siphon to a certain extent, and thus renders the discharge more rapid than when the expelling means is required to discharge the oil at a higher elevation. The chamber 18 in the body casting is merely a cored opening which acts as a continuation of the passageway to form communication between the conduits 9 and 15. The motor 12 is permanently located in the posit1on shown and in this instance is assumed to be held in plane by the olosenoss of it between the boss 19 and the hole in the engine casting. For repair purposes, the motor and attendant parts may be removed as the impeller is designed to pass through the hole which receives the boss 19.

Referring to Figure 2 the motor casing 12a is provided with the cover 21 held in place by screws 22. Inside the casing is the rotor 23 which is provided with a plurality of milled vanes or notches 24. The rotor 23 is fixed to the shaft 13 and its weight is supported by the collar 25 resting upon bronze bushing 26 which may be provided with felt washer 2'? to prevent compressed air from escaping along the shaft into the oil chamber 18.

The upper end of the shaft 13 is drilled out to provide an oil duct 29 to carry oil that may be placed in the duct 31 down to the bearing in the bronze bushing 26. The numeral 32 designates air vents for the escape of the exhaust air used to operate the motor. If the motor is operated by a liquid such as water under pressure, then one or more drain tubes such as shown at 33 may be employed. Tube 33 may also be used when compressed air is employed for driving the motor particularly if it is desired to agitate the oil in the crank case during discharge. If such agitation is required the tube 33 is extended to a point inside the crank case beneath the oil level in which instance the air exhausting through the tube creates agitation and not only tends to prevent settling during the removal of oil but tends to wash down the sides of the crank case by the splashing of the oil, or of the flushing liquid that is sometimes used to rinse out the crank case after the used oil has been expelled. The fluid for operating the motor enters through the hole 34 in the stem 14 which is normally protected from the entrance of foreign material by the cap 35. It will be noted that the stem 14 is made to conform to the standards used for automobile tire stems so that the air connection commonly used for inflating tires may be used for expelling oil.

The air entering through the hole 34 is distributed to a plurality of tangential nozzles 36 by means of the annular groove 37 in the cover which aligns with the annular groove 38 in the casing to form a circular distributing channel communicating with nozzles 36 through the perpendicular holes 39.

The shaft 13 is supported at its lower end by the spider 41 and bearing 42 and secured to the shaft is a suitable pumping means. In this instance I have illustrated the helical impeller 43.

In Figure 3 are shown the lugs 44 which receive the screws 22 and in this figure the tangential nozzles 36 with the annular channel 38 and communicating holes 39 are clearly shown.

The operation of my invention is extremely simple. When it is desired to remove the used oil from the crank case, it is necessary only to place a receiving vessel under the engine, apply the service station air hose to the stem 14 which places the rotor 23 in rapid rotation, causing the shaft 13 and impeller 43 to revolve and lift the oil from the sump in the crank case out through chamber 18 and discharge conduit 15. It will be obvious from the foregoing description that oil cannot escape from the engine through the discharge pipe 15 except when the motor 12 is in operation, consequently it is not necessary to provide any valves or plugs whatever.

In the present specification and drawing I have illustrated the old and well known helical type of impeller, but it should be understood that my invention is not dependent upon the speoiho details of the pumping element or the motor element which drives it. The desired results may be obtained by combining any suitable form of pumping element with the fluid operated motor, and geared, or centrifugal, or any other well known type of pump may be employed if desired.

While I have shown the helical element 43 as extending practically the full length of the tube 9, I have found by experiment that a much shorter impeller will serve the purpose. In fact, very good results are obtained'with a short impeller element shaped like the propeller of a boat.

The motor illustrated and described is designed particularly to utilize the normal compressed air supply found at almost all garages and service stations. It is, however. within the scope of this invention to employ any fluid under pressure, for substantially the same general type of motor could be used with a liquid under pressure as a motivating force, if desired.

I have found that the impact type of air motor as illustrated in this application serves the purpose very satisfactorily, but I have also found that other types of motor may be successfully employed. For instance, very satisfactory results are obtainable by using a small gear type of pump as a motor. In fact, any type of fluid operated motor may be used.

Throughout the claims where the term crank case is used, it is meant to designate that portion of an automotive engine which houses the crank shaft and attendant parts and particularly the lower portion which also acts as a reservoir for the bulk of oil carried in the circulatory system of automotive engines. Where the term impeller is used it is intended to embrace any type of element which when actuated by the motor tends to impel the oil from one place to another. Where the term siphon is used in any of the following claims, it is used in the broader sense, and is meant to designate a conduit leading from below the surface of oil within the crank case upwardly to a point above the normal oil level and thence downwardly on the outside of the crank case or reservoir to a point below the oil surface, such as is formed by the arrangements of conduits 9 and 15 coupled with the chamber 18, for with this construction the oil tends to discharge through the opening at 15a through the suction created by the downward flow in conduit 15 after the action is once started by the impeller.

My invention is not limited to the specific structures shown but only to the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Means for removing lubricant from the crank case of a motor vehicle engine comprising an eduction conduit leading from said case, an impeller to force the lubricant through said conduit and a motor permanently secured to said engine to drive said impeller, connecting means associated with said motor for making temporary connection with a source of power.

2. Means for removing lubricant from the crank case of a motor vehicle engine comprising an eduction conduit leading from said case, a

pump built into said engine to force the lubricant through said conduit and a motor to drive said pump, means associated with said pump for making connection with an external source of power.

3. Means for removing lubricant from the crank case of a motor vehicle engine comprising an eduction conduit leading from a sump in said case to a discharge opening external to said case, power driven pumping means permanently mounted upon said engine to forcibly remove lubricant from the crank case and discharge it at a point external to said case, means of connecting said motor to a source of power available independently of the engine operation.

4. Means for removing lubricant from the crank case of a motor vehicle engine comprising a discharge conduit leading from a sump in said crank case to a point external to said engine, a pumping element to force lubricant through said conduit, and a fluid operated motor built into said engine to drive said pumping element, a conduit leading from said motor to a device adapted to connect with a source of fluid pressure at a service station.

5. Means for removing lubricant from the crank case of a motor vehicle engine comprising a discharge conduit leading from the sump in said case to a point above the normal lubricant level in said case, thence downwardly into position to discharge into a vessel beneath said motor Vehicle, a pumping element operatively disposed to force lubricant through said conduit, a motor mounted upon said. engine to actuate said pumping element, means associated with said motor for making temporary connection with a power supply available while said engine is inoperative.

6. The combination of an automotive internal combustion engine with a motor mounted upon said engine and an oil pump operated by said motor, the intake of said pump being in a sump in said crank case and the discharge at a point external to said case, a connection associated with said motor for making contact with a source of power independent of direct operation of said engine.

'7. An apparatus for utilizing the compressed air service of an automotive service station as a. means for rapidly expelling oil from the crank case of an automotive internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle which comprises a compressed air operated motor permanently mount ed upon said vehicle engine, said motor being in operative connection with a pump and said pump having its intake in a sump in the crank case of said vehicle engine and delivery pipe leading to point external to said crank case.

8. Means for rapidly draining the crank case of an automotive vehicle engine comprising an air motor and pump built into said engine and adapted first to lift the oil from a sump in said engine and then to discharge the oil at a point external to the crank case of said engine, a fixture associated with said motor for making connection with a conduit at a service station.

9. Means for removing oil from the crank case of a motor vehicle engine comprising a conduit leading from a sump in said engine to a point external to said engine, a pump element adapted to force oil through said conduit and a rotary compressed air motor permanently mounted upon said engine in operative relation to said pump, connecting means associated with said motor for making temporary union with an air supply conduit.

10. An improvement in motor vehicle engine construction comprising a conduit leading from a sump in the crank case of said engine upwardly to a point above the normal lubricant level in said crank case, thence outwardly to a discharge aperture exterior to said crank case, motor driven means permanently built as a part of said engine for forcing the oil upwardly from said sump and out through said conduit, said motor driven means being provided with means of establishing temporary connection with a service station power supply during the removal of oil from said crank case.

11. An automotive vehicle having a liquidcarrying receptacle, a conduit extending from a point near the bottom of said receptacle to a point above the liquid level of said receptacle thence downwardly to a point below said level and external to said receptacle, a rotary pump impeller associated with said conduit and a rotary motor carried by said vehicle for operating said impeller, means associated with said motor for making temporary connection to a source of power.

12. The combination of an automotive internal combustion engine with means of rapidly removing lubricant from a lubricant receptacle forming a part of said engine which comprises a rotary pump impeller built into said engine, a motor permanently secured to said engine in operative alignment with said impeller and a power-receiving terminal associated with said motor, said motor and impeller being capable of functioning to remove lubricant from said receptacle while said engine is inoperative.

' ERNEST J. SWEE'I'LAND. 

